WITNESSES to the fatal glider crash which killed a 75-year-old male pilot have been interviewed by Bathurst Police.
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The glider crashed into a paddock near Piper’s Airfield in Eglinton just before 1pm on Sunday, and the Western Advocate understands wreckage has since been found up to 500 metres away from the impact.
POLAIR were on scene on Monday to conduct an aerial surveillance of the area and the Advocate understands that the glider’s canopy was located.
Chifley Local Area Command Duty Officer Inspector Gerard Powell said at this stage the pilot’s identity had not been released.
“We believe it’s a 75-year-old man from Sydney,” he said.
Inspector Powell said the investigation was underway, but it was in very “early days”.
“It’ll take some time to examine the glider,” he said.
“If anyone saw anything call Bathurst Police.”
Multiple triple-0 calls were received by emergency services to attend the crash scene on Sunday following reports the glider had crashed and ignited a grass fire.
While NSW Rural Fire Services crews extinguished the grass fire, Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) treated the glider crash as a HAZMAT incident.
FRNSW acting Superintendent Steven Evans said all air crashes were treated in this manner due to the composite material used to build some planes and gliders.
“They used BA [breathing apparatus] and PPE [personal protective equipment] to deal with that product,” he said.
FRNSW Station Officer Guy Dover said crews were called to the scene again on Tuesday morning to contain the carbon fibre material from the glider.
“We used a mix of PVA glue and water to stop it blowing around,” he said.